Thursday 3 September 2009 18.10 EDT
First published on Thursday 3 September 2009 18.10 EDT

So it turns out that this topic is the most sentimental in this column's history. Even Songs about Grannies and Chocolate-Covered Songs had more bite. From the Chills to the Lovin' Spoonful, from Dusty Springfield to Lynyrd Skynyrd, not to mention any journey undertaken with Doris Day, seemingly everyone stepping off that jet plane and rhyming "birth" with "earth". That this is a reflection on the common human need to be safe and beloved is duly noted. I couldn't help but think, though, that it also shows the record industry's ability to spot an earner and duly flog it into wheezing submission.

Fortunately for all, delving deeper still brought up songs which either came from unpredictable places or which expressed familiar feelings in unlikely ways. Joni Mitchell's California would be first on any such list, the state in which she lives standing both for an ideal and as some abstract kind of lover. Her wry turn of expression – "They won't give peace a chance/That was just a dream some of us had" – implies dissatisfaction with the States. But foreign forays leave her unsatisfied too. California seems to offer contentment, but even then perhaps not: the last lines are a pleading refrain: "Will you take me as I am?"

The Zombies are sitting at home waiting for someone to return. They've dusted off their best upbeat psychedelia for the occasion. "It's going to be good to have you back with me/ Watching the laughter dance around your eyes," they sing. There's just one thing – the returnee is a convict! Whose crime is unspecified! Is this reunion sweet or sinister?

By the time Elvis recorded the Memphis sessions, he was no longer representative of the working man, but that's the guise he assumes in Long Black Limousine, welcoming home an old buddy who ditched the small town for bright lights and rich friends. This friend (Elvis himself as seen through the eyes of another?) got his ultimate comeuppance, however: he died in a car crash and the limousine is his hearse.

The most complex emotions come from Edwyn Collins, whose Home Again acquired extra poignancy when it was released after his recovery from a brain haemorrhage. It tells of a return which is both fond and regretful, inspiring of nostalgia and questioning of it.

Lily Allen reflects on the small things – the Chinese takeaway of the title, beans on toast, afternoon chats – that assume such power when you're miles from home. Rod Stewart meanwhile returns home "with my tail between my legs", having failed all ends up, but without sounding regretful in the slightest. Mel Tormé and the Fatback Band don't really provide much in the way of lyrics, but every homecoming party needs something to dance to.

Finally, there is a subset of this topic which is of a very different stripe and should perhaps have its own list one day. Songs about the return from war, cover a very different set of emotions and serve different purposes. Vera Lynn is on the list with an iconic song that created an idea of home that fighting men could keep in their heads. Steve Earle tells a tale of two conflicts – the second world war and Vietnam – and emphatically contrasts the fortunes of their veterans.